A Complete Picture of Electron-Nuclear Coupling Dynamics in H₂⁺

A Complete Picture of Electron-Nuclear Coupling Dynamics in H₂⁺ | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A Complete Picture of Electron-Nuclear Coupling Dynamics in H₂ ⁺ Jens Biegert, Tobias Steinle, Saurabh Mhatre, Kasra Amini, Katharina Chirvi, and 10 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5506416/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Chemical reactivity is fundamentally governed by the coupled dynamics of electrons and nuclei, which extend beyond the scope of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. Directly resolving these coupled motions on their intrinsic timescales has remained a significant challenge. We employ a two-color mid-infrared electron-nuclear streaking technique to image electron-nuclear dynamics in real-time. This approach enables the control and tracking of transient electron localization within the hydrogen molecular ion (H₂ ⁺ ) during its transition from a neutral molecule into an atomic state. We capture the dissociation process of H₂ ⁺ into two nuclei, revealing the evolution of the quantum tunneling barrier. These findings constitute the first complete electron-nuclear visualization of a photochemical reaction, offering unprecedented insights into molecular dissociation dynamics. This methodology provides a foundation for extending such ultrafast imaging techniques to more complex molecular systems, advancing the understanding of chemical processes at their most fundamental level. Physical sciences/Physics/Atomic and molecular physics/Atomic and molecular interactions with photons Physical sciences/Physics/Chemical physics Physical sciences/Physics/Techniques and instrumentation/Optical spectroscopy Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5506416","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":441561443,"identity":"a68f1876-9c3f-4f8d-84db-d1eb2520eabd","order_by":0,"name":"Jens Biegert","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYwIQHhfTBg4CdJC2PjDAMGyQbirQJSzTwMRGhhbu89/IFxh4WcvHvv88c2BXYS/AzMxyTwWtBzLk2C8YyEseGZ44bNOQbJEpINbGn4tczIMWNgbJNI3DgjjRGo5UCdwQEeM/xa5r8x/gDUUr9x/jPGZguDAxIGB/i/EbCFx0ACqCVBXoKNsZkBrIWHjYBfcswkEs9IGG7gSWOc2QPySzObsQU+LYbtZ4w/fNxRJy/ffozhw48/wBBjb354A6+WBiCRAMQGB2BCzPjUA4E8nNFAQOUoGAWjYBSMXAAARgRCr4xjXo4AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7556-501X","institution":"ICFO - Institute of Photonic Sciences","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jens","middleName":"","lastName":"Biegert","suffix":""},{"id":441561444,"identity":"980061db-2c2b-4385-b54d-cc3065e49358","order_by":1,"name":"Tobias Steinle","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tobias","middleName":"","lastName":"Steinle","suffix":""},{"id":441561445,"identity":"97e0feec-4799-4a22-8adb-307360993c00","order_by":2,"name":"Saurabh Mhatre","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6307-5382","institution":"Institute of Physical Chemistry, Friedrich-Schiller University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Saurabh","middleName":"","lastName":"Mhatre","suffix":""},{"id":441561446,"identity":"a5ddc9c7-8f3b-4733-a56d-b9be1a745a01","order_by":3,"name":"Kasra Amini","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2491-1672","institution":"ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kasra","middleName":"","lastName":"Amini","suffix":""},{"id":441561447,"identity":"a784b752-746d-4f39-a5ba-a5db06f6d39d","order_by":4,"name":"Katharina Chirvi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Katharina","middleName":"","lastName":"Chirvi","suffix":""},{"id":441561448,"identity":"50f629ef-4aee-444d-8291-4fba34ae8291","order_by":5,"name":"Aurelien Sanchez","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aurelien","middleName":"","lastName":"Sanchez","suffix":""},{"id":441561449,"identity":"383489e5-30f3-4b87-a321-a83c375fcc57","order_by":6,"name":"Blanca Belsa","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9256-8714","institution":"ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Blanca","middleName":"","lastName":"Belsa","suffix":""},{"id":441561450,"identity":"d0e6e50c-2426-4262-9e85-2ace407a4f7f","order_by":7,"name":"Xinyao Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xinyao","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":441561451,"identity":"6e74676c-81cf-4992-98ee-8ea3f8f4ec46","order_by":8,"name":"Alexander Schubert","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8560-6436","institution":"Institute of Physical Chemistry, Friedrich-Schiller University; 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Directly resolving these coupled motions on their intrinsic timescales has remained a significant challenge. We employ a two-color mid-infrared electron-nuclear streaking technique to image electron-nuclear dynamics in real-time. This approach enables the control and tracking of transient electron localization within the hydrogen molecular ion (H₂\u003csup\u003e⁺\u003c/sup\u003e) during its transition from a neutral molecule into an atomic state. We capture the dissociation process of H₂\u003csup\u003e⁺\u003c/sup\u003e into two nuclei, revealing the evolution of the quantum tunneling barrier. These findings constitute the first complete electron-nuclear visualization of a photochemical reaction, offering unprecedented insights into molecular dissociation dynamics. 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